I . *grave
/ greɪv; NAmE / noun , adjective
—see also grave (II)
■ noun
1.
a place in the ground where a dead person is buried :
We visited Grandma's grave.
There were flowers on the grave.
2.
[ sing. ] (often the grave ) (usually literary ) death; a person's death :
Is there life beyond the grave (= life after death) ?
He followed her to the grave (= died soon after her) .
She smoked herself into an early grave (= died young as a result of smoking) .
•
IDIOMS
- turn in his / her grave
—more at cradle noun , dig verb , foot noun
■ adjective ( graver , grav·est ) ( formal )
1.
( of situations, feelings, etc. ) very serious and important; giving you a reason to feel worried :
The police have expressed grave concern about the missing child's safety.
The consequences will be very grave if nothing is done.
We were in grave danger.
2.
( of people ) serious in manner, as if sth sad, important or worrying has just happened :
He looked very grave as he entered the room.
—see also gravity ➡ note at serious
► grave·ly adverb :
She is gravely ill.
Local people are gravely concerned.
He nodded gravely as I poured out my troubles.
II . grave
/ grɑːv; NAmE / (also ˌgrave ˈaccent ) noun
a mark placed over a vowel in some languages to show how it should be pronounced, as over the e in the French word père
—compare acute accent , circumflex , tilde , umlaut
—see also grave (I)
••
WORD ORIGIN
I . Old English græf , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch graf and German Grab . The adjective dates from late 15th cent. (originally of a wound in the sense severe, serious ): from Old French grave or Latin gravis heavy, serious.
II . early 17th cent.: French grave or Latin gravis heavy, serious.